Agenda item

[Report of the Director of Children’s Services. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Children and Families]

This report sets out the proposed Cabinet Response to the recommendations of the Scrutiny Panel on the review of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

The Chair of the Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Panel introduced the review which was taken forward in response to increasing levels of concern amongst parents and carers regarding support for children and young people with SEND. In view of this being a large and complex area, the panel focussed their attention primarily on Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs and autism, in order to ensure a manageable scope. The review put forward recommendations concerning the long delays for diagnosis and treatment, exclusions of children at SEN support stage, which can be exacerbated by delays in obtaining EHC Plans, supporting parents access support that their children need.  In addition, co-production with parents and carers and a collaborative approach should now be being followed in the design, planning and development of services.

The Panel Chair thanked parents for sharing their views and experiences with them and hoped that the review recommendations assisted with making improvements. Cllr Dogan sought further details on the reasons the recommendations which had partially been agreed.

The Cabinet Member for Children and Families, commended the Scrutiny Panel for the review and findings. The Cabinet Member commented that the report was extremely helpful, and the outcome of many hours of focused and concentrated work. The recommendations were commented to be pragmatic, positive and helpful in supporting the programme of improvement currently underway in the SEND service.

The Cabinet Member gave a commitment to work with my fellow members, with officers and with all families to ensure that the recommendations were implemented, and that families would see and feel the benefits.

In conclusion, the Cabinet Member welcomed the work of AMAZE in consulting with parents, carers, families and partners in creating an active and broad borough-wide parent/carer forum to support co-production.

In response to questions from the Scrutiny Panel chair, the following information was noted:

• With regards to the response to recommendation 12, although, at the scrutiny review stage the service had been under pressure with a shortage of educational psychologists, there was now a full complement and no need to access funding in relation to this.
• In relation to recommendation 9, the basic principles of this recommendation which were focussed on inclusion, were agreed with. There was a later report on this Cabinet agenda setting out plans for Alternative Provision. The Cabinet Member shared the aim of enabling pupils with SEN access mainstream education.
• Recommendation 12  - engagement was  constantly continuing with special needs school and  the Cabinet Member  and been to parent groups to consider the  issues raised on co-production .The Cabinet  Member agreed  that everything had to be routed in joint working.

RESOLVED

1. To note the Overview and Scrutiny Report on SEND (attached at Appendix 1).

2. To agree the responses to the Overview and Scrutiny report recommendations (attached as appendix 2)

Reasons for decision

On 23 January 2020, Overview and Scrutiny Committee approved the report of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Panel (CYPSP) on Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

In developing its report, the CYPSP held a number of evidence gathering sessions and took evidence from Council officers as well as a range of experts and local stakeholders. The CYPSP then made a number of recommendations which were adopted by Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 23 January 2020.

The recommendations made in the CYPSP report can be used to help guide the continuing development and improvement of the SEND Service. While the report does not set out a detailed and complete list of explicit objectives to be delivered within a given timescale, it does provide a clear direction of travel for these areas. All of the recommendations are positive and are welcomed and are either currently being incorporated into the Service’s and wider Council approach or can and will be incorporated going forward.

Where any recommendations present any challenge to immediate or eventual implementation, they have been responded to in a proportionately cautious way with partial agreement as relevant.

Specific reasons for each recommendation response are given in Appendix 2. The overall approach of the report – which is comprehensive and detailed – is a helpful framework to inform the current and continuing improvement of the SEND Service. This work has been further developed since the scrutiny review and includes:

Using the grant available from Contact and further supplemented by the Local Authority to commission a charity called AMAZE to undertake outreach work on developing a strong and active parent/carer forum in our borough;

• substantially completing the AP review with a future route map for our young people and out schools now clearer;
• developing the co-production steering group whose work will be further enhanced by a parent forum;
• reviewing the High Needs Block and key trends;
• Engaging with parents to hear their views to inform and shape our services.

Alternative options considered

None.